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Commission meeting becomes heated over agenda items; co-chairs acknowledge harm and pledge follow-up
Summary
An exchange over whether an agenda item was included escalated; Commissioner Marsha Morris criticized meeting management, called it 'embarrassing' and 'performative,' and several members said they felt harmed; Chair Jasmine Goodspeed apologized and said she would take responsibility and work to improve meeting processes.
An exchange over whether an agenda item had been included in the meeting package escalated into sharp remarks from Commissioner Marsha Morris, who said the meetings were "running terribly" and described the proceedings as "embarrassing." Morris repeatedly insisted she had asked for an item to be added and said she had put the request in writing. "I put that in writing to you that I felt as though we needed to put on the agenda the way in which the meeting was being run... It's embarrassing," Morris said.
Following the confrontation, Chair Jasmine Goodspeed acknowledged the harm and apologized for the distress. "I will take responsibility as a new chairperson... I'm going to make mistakes... I'm coming into this meeting with the best intentions... but I'm still learning," Goodspeed said, adding that commissioners are volunteers doing emotionally difficult work. Felicia Lemquist also acknowledged her emotional response and reiterated commitment to the work. The chairs agreed to continue the discussion outside the meeting and to put unresolved items on a future agenda.
